Skip to main content

Hummus

Envision the sprinkle of paprika that would make this more photogenic.

I've had a hummus breakthrough. Thank you, Inspired Taste. I've been making hummus on and off for a while. It's always been better than most store-bought hummuses, but not better enough to get really excited about it. It's mainly been a texture issue... it's been kind of clumpy and not very rich-tasting, and I always figured that the rich creamy ones in stores and restaurants were laden with fats and/or chemicals to make them so. Turns out it's just a matter blending the ingredients in the right order.

Tahini and lemon go first. Blend them for a good minute until they're kind of whipped together. Then comes the rest, minus water, and then the water.

I also squeezed fresh lemons this time instead of using bottled lemon juice, and it makes a big difference. It's worth keeping lemons on hand.

I briefly glimpsed something in the original recipe that debates the merits of skinning the chickpeas. I didn't have time to read it, let alone think about doing it. Has anyone with a baby at home ever skinned chickpeas? I think not.


The Recipe (taken exactly from Inspired Taste):
1/4 c tahini
1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic
2 tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2-3 tb water
  • Blend tahini and lemon juice in food processor 1 minute or until whipped together, scraping down the sides as necessary.
  • Add garlic, olive oil, salt, and cumin. Blend 30 seconds.
  • Add chickpeas. Blend until broken down into a smooth consistency.
  • Add enough water to create desired consistency, and blend until smooth.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A-
Overall reason: I could imagine altering this to get more flavor, but it's a great basic recipe.
Time to prepare: 6 minutes
Husband quote: (I'm sure he'd come up with some pun if I asked him for a quote, but he hasn't tried the hummus yet.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Adzuki Beans with Black Rice

I hope I don't turn any readers away by featuring cilantro in my first photo. My current food obsession is black rice. I was first introduced to it at  Sushi Pure . It's purple when cooked, and I was completely smitten when purple sushi arrived at our table. I mean, purple sushi! It was like my birthday or something. Actually, it might have been my birthday, because I pretty much always have sushi on my birthday, but anyway. It's kind of sweet and has this great chewy texture. When I learned  how healthy it is , my crush evolved to full-out love. Sushi Pure's Spicy Tuna Roll (photo from FoodSpotting.com) In my ongoing research for ingredients that are low in calories but high in nutrition, adzuki (also spelled azuki) beans came up. I learned that these are the sweet red beans used in Japanese desserts, including red bean ice cream, which I've been obsessed with since I was a kid. But since turning them into ice cream probably negates the health benef

Cambodian Lemongrass Stir-Fry

  I recommend going heavy on the peanuts I recently finally branched out and tried something new at  Angkor Cambodian Restaurant , and now I'll never branch out ever again because my new favorite dish is too good. They call it Cha Krung, though I've seen a lot of other spellings in my attempt to find recipes. It's a lemongrass stir-fry and they do it with green beans, carrot, onion, and jalapeno, with peanuts on top. The peanuts are amazing in this, but I also really love the way they stir-fry the jalapeno as a vegetable, by removing the seeds and veins and slicing it thin. In my version above I used what I had, which was broccoli, eggplant from the garden, thai chilies instead of the jalapeno (but I'm going to grow jalapenos next year for this purpose), and fresh basil since I found a lot of recipes calling for it. And tofu, though it sounds like chicken is most traditional. I was a bit discouraged when researching recipes because I would need to acquire fresh lemongra